Core
strength cannot be achieved with one exercise, one discipline or one magic set
of repetitive exercises. Sorry to burst
your bubble! Pilates is great, but it is not the be all to end all programs of exercise!
A
lean abdominal wall is visually appealing but 2-3 sets of crunches with or
without a stability ball or medicine ball will not create “six pack” abs either, if you
have a layer of mushy fat on top of the muscle.
You
really don’t need a fat emulsifier, fat burner or fat metabolizer. You don’t need (and should not consider using
without your physician’s knowledge and admonition) ephedrine or MaHuang to burn
or whittle away your waistline. Those $29.95 electric belts won’t do the trick
either. Simply put, lean abdominal are
the result of your food choices, the calories burned and the muscle strength
developed.
Let’s
discuss food choices, and keep it simple. Eat lean protein sources,
fish, chicken or beef, nuts and/or legumes. Eat complex carbohydrates
(fresh vegetables
and moderate consumption of fresh fruit). Minimize or eliminate simplex
carbohydrates (sugars, starch, and refined
foods) and drink water frequently, minimizing beer, alcohol and sweet
fruit
juices.
Burning
the calories is pretty standard and the rules are simple: move the body at a
rate such that you achieve the greatest
rate of fat burning in the 65% to 75% range of your target heart rate. This
will keep you in an aerobic state, guaranteeing adequate oxygen is supplied and
allowing your body to burn fat. You want to move such that stored body fat will
continue to be used as energy. Bear in mind this is hard to do “walking and
reading” or “walking and talking.” Leave
the reading material for resting times and move at a pace that churns and
burns. For example, if you are trying to
lose weight and body fat, set a goal for yourself to work up to heart strength conditioning such that you can maintain
100 rpm on a cycle for 10-15 minutes and jog a 7-10 minute mile with ease.
There
are a plethora of abdominal exercises available for strength
training. Many you know and use regularly already. Two very basic
Pilates exercises you
may incorporate into your existing program to assist development of your deep
tissue abdominal, building muscle strength from the inside out are the Half Roll Down and The Hundreds.
The Half Roll Down

Start in a seated position, knees
bent with feet on floor and legs tightly squeezed together. Hands holding on
behind knees throughout the exercise. Round your spine into a "c"
curve and roll down toward the floor one bone at a time, only until arms
straighten (hands stay behind the knees), then roll back up to starting
position, maintaining the "c" curve in the spine throughout. This is
excellent in opening up the lower back which is generally quite tight.
The Hundred
Lying flat on back, bend knees into chest and then
extend legs up to the ceiling (keep back long and flat) and bring head up (chin
into chest). With arms beside the body, vigorously pump arms up and down,
taking a breath for with this tempo (inhale for 5 pumps, exhale for 5 pumps).
Take 10 or more breaths.
Note: As you get stronger, lowering the legs and extend them (keeping back flat) to a 45-degree line from your hips.
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